A television documentary that is intended to correct a one-sided image of Jesus is airing on prime-time TV this week.
...Conservative pastor D. James Kennedy is behind the program, called Who Is This Jesus?. It aired on Pax TV on Christmas Day and is being shown on some CBS, ABC, and Fox Network stations Dec. 28.
...The one-hour documentary explores major topics surrounding Jesus' life, including the reliability of the biblical accounts, archaeological evidence of Jesus' miracles, messianic prophecies, ancient texts that corroborate Bible events, and Jesus' death and resurrection
...It features interviews with historians, theologians, and scholars from a variety of faiths and institutions, including Harvard and Princeton universities, the Jesus Seminar, the John Paul II Institute, and Westminster Abby.
...They include Helmut Koester, theology professor at Harvard Divinity School; Amy-Jill Levine, Jewish scholar of the New Testament, Vanderbilt Divinity School; John Dominic Crossan, former co-chairman of the Jesus Seminar and former professor at DePaul University; Bruce Metzger, retired professor at Princeton Theological Seminary; and N. T. Wright, canon of Westminster Abbey.
..."Of the many questions Jesus asked His followers during His ministry, one of the most important was about who they believed He was," said Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He also is president of Evangelism Explosion International.
..."Here we are 2,000 years later and the question is equally relevant. For one person, He is their savior, and for another, just a good man, perhaps a false prophet. Who Is This Jesus? helps answer this age-old debate." Kennedy is co-host of the program.
...Americans have become quite interested in spiritual things, and television has aired numerous programs and documentaries about Jesus, Kennedy said. But there is much more to be said about "the world's most controversial religious figure," he said.
...The $2 million production was made in response to television programs such as ABC's The Search for Jesus, hosted by anchor Peter Jennings, which some theological conservatives criticized.
...There has been a lot of criticism and concern over programs such as ABC's The Search For Jesus, Kennedy said, "which presented extremely questionable and controversial information as well-established fact. Who Is This Jesus? will balance these programs with insights and arguments from a number of opposing views."
...The documentary is a project of Coral Ridge Media and features actor Dean Jones.
